Hidden Depths
by myst-of-twilyte
Summary: When Kakashi is flung violently to the past, he needs someone who will believe he's from the future - or at least trust him when he does questionable things! Good thing he stumbles across just the man he's looking for right off the bat. Er, boy?
1. Trust - Pt 1

Hidden Depths

Trust Arc

* * *

The ground disappeared beneath him and he was no longer sure that stepping off the building had been the best idea, foggy mind or not.

He'd bought himself several minutes in his near suicidal dash across the roofs, and it wasn't his injured state that would no doubt worsen dramatically upon contact with the distant ground that was worrying him either. What was making him second guess his decision was a certain sneaky bastard already occupying the alley.

Confusion and disorientation didn't prevent him holding a his finger to his lips as the bastard watched him fall. He was far too used to his unexpected appearances to do less.

He crumpled as gracefully as he could manage with no chakra to soften the impact, and counted it as a success when he only exacerbated his current injuries and didn't add any new ones. The world was contorted wildly around him and he couldn't be bothered to get up. Something about seeing Gai here had taken the urgency out of his escape. It didn't help that he couldn't quite put his finger on why he'd been running in the first place. Nothing was making much sense - it was his instincts that had him running before he'd even seen his pursuers - or that he could remember seeing them. Being right most of the time he hadn't second guessed them in his befuddled state. And yet it almost seemed as if he was running across the roofs of _Konoha_... somewhere he should've been safe unless he'd forgotten something _extremely_ important. And now he'd also run into someone as distinctive as their village.

But wacky dream or not, he couldn't imagine a would where he couldn't trust Gai. Not even his dreams could warp Gai from his... eccentricities. The implications of his presence on the other hand... there was something... When was the last time he'd spoken to Gai?

"Sorry Gai, but I'll make poor competition right now. Rain check?" Despite his quiet voice, the oddity of his words seemed to ring around his head. Gai hadn't even issued a challenge yet - and his words... why was he so serious? He rubbed clumsily at his eye and tried to focus on the green body suit. But his eye refused to focus, leaving the form much smaller than it should be in his doubled vision.

"Ah," he said, as he recalled his pursuers. "That might be quite some time - so many people don't want to let me rest." He slumped back against the wall. They were what had woken him up, so that made some sort of sense didn't it? That that was what they wanted? His vision was blacking out at the sides, but as long as he had pursuers he couldn't fall into oblivion his body obviously needed. He became vaguely aware of murmuring that might have been someone speaking and he refocused, actually seeing the oddly small green blobs again. "Ne... I'll play you rock-paper-scissors for an undisturbed bed." He couldn't quite help the the smile that quirked the corner of his lips, but his mask would hide it if the darkness wouldn't.

The indistinct murmuring that faded in and out of his faulty hearing cut off abruptly. Ah, he'd surprised him. Again. It always bemused him that Gai would be so surprised when he'd been the one to first to trick him into hiding at Gai's when he was injured and wary of facing the rest of the world. Maybe the 'youthful' bastard wouldn't consider it tricking him, setting it as the condition of one of their competitions if Gai won. A rigged bet if ever there was one with the state Kakashi had been in, but he'd gone along with it. They'd just been chuunin then, but since then they'd repeated the occasion several times.

A hand on his shoulder snapped his attention back to the green again. "Anytime, Kakashi." His pursuers left his mind and he slipped from consciousness with those words. There were many people who would call him crazy for relying on Gai of all people for a task requiring stealth. Some would have thought he hadn't even made it clear enough that he wanted stealth. Even after his stint in ANBU few people realized what he was capable of aside from his overwhelming skills in taijutsu. But Gai had been ambushing him since they first met, stubbornly popping up and preventing the equally stubborn chuunin Kakashi from avoiding him, and carrying the tradition on for as may years as they'd known each other. Most people didn't realize that Gai's sneakiness vs. his own senses was the most consistent part of their 'rivalry.'

No one had ever found him on the multiple occasions that he'd relied on Gai's hospitality. Not even ANBU would be able to bother him.

* * *

Note: Not edited. Let me know if I made any mistakes


	2. Trust - Pt 2

Hidden Depths

Trust Arc

Part 2

* * *

He jolted into consciousness and quickly took stock of his surroundings, focusing in on what had set off his alarms. There was nobody in his immediate vicinity or he would've already been at their throats, but a presence had entered the building he was in. Most likely the next room over. Tension slowly slipped from his mind and body as he recognized the smells in the room, despite the unknown person nearby. No doubt the familiar mix of the tang of metal, sweat, sweat, blood, and Gai's own unique scent, was what had let him sleep through the night as well.

He dimly recognized that It had taken a moment longer than usual for the scent to reach him. His arm shook as he brought a hand to his face, finding both his hitai-ate and his mask still on, telling him a bit more about his situation. Smell was too important a sense to dull while he was injured enough to fully pass out. He happily took advantage of the fact that many overlooked it - even a small change in scents would wake him from the deepest sleep. The fact that he'd left his mask on, muting his acute sense of smell, meant that he was somewhere, or with someone, that he trusted. Something that had happened more than once when he came here.

At ease again with the familiar situation, he relaxed back into the mattress, and let his mind wander as it stirred sluggishly. As was usual when he was staying at Gai's, his host had left for his morning workout long before he was ready to get up. It wasn't that he was lazy, or even that Gai got up at ungodly hours to start training - but more the fact that, by the very nature of his stays, he was always recovering from _something_. He vaguely recalled reacting to the change several hours ago, as sensitive to presences leaving the vicinity as he was to them entering it, but as it always did, the familiarity of the smells and the situation had lulled his less rested mind back to sleep. Just another part of the routine.

The unknown variable, he mused, was whether Gai would shower before deciding that his poor injured guest was deprived of his morning greeting. He'd long ago decided to be more relieved than disturbed by the fact that at least Gai could tell when he was sleeping. If he fell back asleep again - which had happened - then the bastard would leave off with making his morning as loud as possible.

This might be one of those mornings, he thought wearily. His mind wasn't clearing up and the adrenaline that had accompanied his rise to consciousness had faded, leaving his limbs feeling like lead. What exactly had he done this time? He teetered back and forth wondering if maybe it should have landed him on the hospital, but then decided the fact that he'd woken up at all proved that it wasn't _that_ extreme.

Not remembering exactly how he'd ended up at Gai's was as much part of the routine as hoping Gai showered before he saw him. But something else was trying to get his attention beneath the familiar safety. There was something... just a bit _off_, that he couldn't quite put a finger on. It felt somewhat like he'd been on the battlefield before waking up here, with no way to account for the weeks it should have taken to get back to Konoha.

He remembered waking up on the roofs of Konoha, but the memory was distorted by his absolute surety that he couldn't _be_ in his village. He frowned as he recalled the equally strong instinct that he couldn't be caught. His thoughts had been scattered and incoherent, leaving most of his memories fragmented, but this stood out clearly against the chaos. If he could just put put all the pieces back together maybe he could figure out his reasoning.

On the other hand, he thought dryly, as the 'Springtime of Youth' invaded the room, perhaps that wouldn't be necessary after all. Indeed, everything was quite clear. If he wasn't insane, anyway, which he wasn't completely dismissing as a possibility.

"I am most pleased to see you awake on this most youthful of mornings, my rival!" Gai declared as he barged in dramatically. Kakashi hadn't batted an eye since the first day he'd encountered Gai's... exuberance... but faced with a Gai that looked far more like that first day they met than the booming, muscle bound nin that he remembered seeing last, he was sorely pressed to remain calm. Looking him over idly, as his brain struggled to switch gears, he was more disturbed than ever by the resemblance between him and his pebble - eh, student.

"Yo," he greeted with a raised hand. The relief that his own voice was it's usual timbre was stronger than was called for, but a stray thought had half convinced him that he was as young as Gai - that the last twenty or so years had been nothing more than an elaborate dream or genjutsu. Or insanity. Had to keep that in mind. He couldn't really blame people for hiding out in their own minds if that was what insanity was like. It had certainly felt more real than the surreal situation he found himself in; Gai wasn't helping with that.

On the other hand, reality, if that's what this was, seemed to be far more interesting.

* * *

Note: This is not edited. Let me know if I make any mistakes.

Also, when Kakashi refers to the first day he and Gai meet, he's not referring to when they met in the Academy. He's totally forgotten about that.  
About the pebble. I was reading a parody that referred to Rock Lee as Pebble, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I can't recall the name of it atm but I'll get it up here when I find it.


	3. Trust - Pt 3

Hidden Depths

Trust Arc

Part 3

* * *

Silver clouds drifted across the night sky, occasionally sealing away the light of the waxing moon. It's soft light only made the shadows darker in contrast and two shadows slipping past went unnoticed. Despite this the shadows remained wary, as alert as if they were trespassing on enemy territory and a single slip up could mean fates worth than death.

They blended into the shadows of an inconspicuous building and there they paused, waiting. Their information wasn't guaranteed to be accurate, but their worst fear was not that the building wasn't an entrance to their targets lair, but rather that it might be in regular use.

The larger finally signaled to the smaller shadow to stand on lookout and turned his attention to where he suspected the seal to be. Now that lack of chakra residue, misplaced smells, and worn paths indicated that the entrance wasn't in frequent use, he was free to search for a way in. They would have retreated and tried a different entrance if this one had been active. His hovering hand found a faint amount of chakra right where he expected it to be, and he carefully traced the curves and lines of the seal. He smirked to himself slightly at the dust that hid the seal - if anyone tried to brush it away to reveal the dark ink they would be in for a nasty surprise. He was perfectly happy to cheat and let his knowledge of the seal and the strength of his sensing bypass their security.

Carefully he visualized the tracings of the little seal, another deciding factor for their retreat or advance, before he withdrew his hand, pleased with the results. Within moments he had scrawled out a seal of his own onto specially prepared paper. The seal on the wall wasn't the same one their information had given them, but the style and effects were similar, and it was easy enough to make the appropriate modifications to the corresponding unlocking seal. A few more moments to make a duplicate and they were in with none the wiser.

They passed the the edge of the seal and he had to restrain himself from cackling madly. Their target had managed to commission a seal that muffled chakra to prevent other shinobi from sensing whoever was in the barrier, but it was subpar. All it did was tell him at what point the target would have to start personally masking their chakra as they left their lair. If he could get a look at one of the main seals, even with his own 'dabbling,' he might be able to puzzle out how to create a blind spot in it for future infiltration.

They dropped through the trap door after only a quick scan of the building and landed silently. Any differences between their information and reality had been few so far, but they expected that to change soon. A few signals latter and the two set off, aware that any targets would be masking their chakra for at least the next half-mile. Neither were surprised at the distance - there were few who would be foolish enough to build their base directly under a Hidden Village. 

* * *

_Earlier that day..._

The atmosphere shifted slightly, abruptly pulling him from his thoughts. His state of mind was worrying but he played it off - no need for _both_ of them to be doubting his sanity. He had the feeling that Gai had said something but he'd put money on it being something about his 'hipness' despite the early hour - it wasn't the first time Gai had said that. With that in mind he responded like he normally did. As in, not at all, and instead took his time getting out of bed. The room and it's green occupant contorted alarmingly but he had long since learned to compensate for such inconveniences. "Maa, what's in the fridge this morning?"

Vaguely aware of excited exclamations following him, he concentrated on walking steadily and through doorways rather than doors. Sight would've been nice to help find the kitchen as he walked out into the main part of the ... apartment? No, house - he hadn't felt any presences since he woke and he never would have been able to stay asleep with unidentified presences nearby. His nose twitched as a new scent reached him and he obediently followed it to the left with a slight smile. It had taken years before Gai had been able to cook without burning the food to some extent. And by that point, the smell of burnt food had long seeped permanently into his kitchen's.

He let a soft humming took over his directions and he found himself in front of a white blob that could've been a refrigerator and he paused just long enough to figure out where the handle was. For a moment, he simply stood there letting the cold air seep towards him, trying to figure out what each blob of color represented. Soon enough though, he simply gave up and started tossing whatever he grabbed over his shoulder. Gai wouldn't care what they were having as long as he made enough and he could rely on his nose for the rest. He gave the pantry a similar treatment then turned to where the charred smell was strongest. The flames were already going and he set a pan on them, catching the oil out of the air. Gratefully he let the familiar routine of cooking take over, finally closing his eye to headache inducing world around him and slipping into his own mind.

_"Five eggs sound about right?" The oil was traded with a casual flick of the wrist for a flying spatula._

His mind wasn't much better than the contorting world outside it, but that was something he needed to address. Normally his mind would process all the information and give him nice, logical conclusions and courses of actions to take upon finding a mini Gai and a building layout he hadn't seen since before the Kyuubi attacked. But as it was, only a few things stood out. No one could know. And he needed to be clear-headed. Gai couldn't tell anyone - needed to convince him not to tell anyone. There wasn't much he could do in a state like this except run or kill.

_ "The onions need to be diced, they can't go in like this." A whole onion went back over his shoulder. He turned around a second later, pan held out to the side to catch five liquid missiles, absently shifting it to prevent the gooey goodness from splashing out._

Neither or those would be good. The first because it would most likely end in the second. And the second because that would end in the first. Truly a vicious cycle. Not something he wanted to involve Gai in. At the moment they were good. If Gai was willing to keep his secret. If Gai actually thought he was ... himself, and not pretending. It must've been strange from his perspective, what exactly was it that he had seen that had convinced him to take him in for the night? He thought that he might've asked that old keyphrase, half inside joke, half code of desperation. Gai was strong, tricky, and compassionate enough to take a risk on a possibility of danger. How big a risk he'd taken would determine how much convincing he needed to do.

_"Do you want to add nuts to the dough? It wasn't a prank." He switched pans on the stove with one hand and caught the sauce with the other. "You know it wasn't henge or genjutsu. Plates?"_

Which he would need a clear mind for. He needed to know what was wrong with him. It wasn't just his head, but everything else was ignorable, and most of it seemed to originate in his head. The chakra exhaustion wasn't helping, but he could function around it, and he was suppressing his chakra anyway. It was a hard-won instinct whenever he was injured or sleeping. And it was currently keeping him hidden from a village full of shinobi's that were already on alert after last night. Not that it would have mattered if he had been on his own. There was more to tracking than following chakra signatures and the shinobi of Konoha were more than up to the task of tracking a half-dead bag of flesh. It would've taken interference for him to stay safe - skilled interference.

He turns with the last pot and approaches Gai at the table. "I'm glad you were the one I stumbled across, Gai." He doubted even Minato would have hidden and kept him a secret for even this long.

"Eh?" He opens his eyes again in time to see a suspicious gleam in Gai's eye accompanying the shock and he's suddenly reminded why he avoids being emotional around him. He sets down the pot of miso soup (like hell is he gonna serve it up) and lets his hand reach up to the rub the back of his head in a self-conscious gesture and a sheepish smile curve his eye. Hopefully Gai would get the message and tone down his response, but he knew it was unlikely and he braced himself for the onslaught. Fortune favors him though and Gai's stomach growls, breaking some of the tension. He laughed along with Gai as he proclaims about the 'spirit' and 'youthfulness' of his stomach and it's eagerness to devour such a wonderful breakfast.

He lets his eye-smile become more genuine. "Maa, I hoped I made enough - you trained longer than usual today didn't you?" Time beyond 'this morning,' and 'last night,' were beyond him at the moment, but the painfully still way Gai was waiting to eat instead of bouncing around the kitchen said enough.

"Aa," he agreed. "I was feeling most unyouthful this morning." Now that Kakashi had joined him at the table, their unspoken agreement to start eating, Gai made quick work of his food. Half of it had already vanished. He smiled to himself - and Naruto thought he could eat fast. "But don't worry," Gai exclaimed, throwing a nice guy pose out there with his voice, "I doubled my training regiment to make up for such a betrayal of the Spirit of Youth!" Kakashi gave him another eye smile and the other half of Gai's plate vanished.

Feeling generous in the face of actually having to eat himself, he prepared another plate with the mishmash of dishes they were having for 'breakfast' and replaced the now empty plate in front of the bottomless pit. He poked at his own, nearly full plate, glaring at it balefully when it didn't succumb to the same magic that Gai's plate seemed to be subject to. Right after an injury he tended to eat light, food seeming entirely unappealing. He blamed it on being poisoned by a traitor while he was recovering after a bad mission. But nonetheless he began to pick at it courageously before Gai could intervene. He could quite happily go his whole life without hearing that lecture from mini-Gai.

A soft tap drew his attention to where Gai had deliberately placed down his chopsticks. He glanced up and slouched further over the table in response to the seriousness Gai was showing. Serious Gai was dependable when you were in the midst of the enemy or on a mission going bad, but serious Gai staring at you from the other side of the table wasn't reassuring at all. So _intense_.

"I'm glad you're aware of me again," Gai said calmly.

He raised his brow in a nonchalant question.

Gai leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and looking over his folded hands. So _very_ intense. _Always_ intense. "Do you remember a single word either of us said since we entered the kitchen?"

He glanced away from the intensity, trying to recall their conversation for the last ... hour? Anxiously he realized that he had no idea what had happened in the kitchen. A glance over the table showed him what he'd made; the steam still coming off the miso soup, the way his eggs were slightly cold the way he liked them, gave him a rough estimate on how long it had been between when he'd started cooking and when they'd sat own. Perhaps an hour or so. But other than a vague impression that he _had_ spoken, he had nothing.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Gai blink and he quickly shoveled some food into his mouth, replacing his mask just as Gai reopened his eyes. Pure reflex and habit - and maybe a bit of desperation; he hadn't even thought about it. But Gai had been trying to catch him with his mask down since the first time they'd eaten together. It was one of their oldest ongoing challenges; he couldn't help but taunt him. And people thought their 'rivalry' was one sided.

"You're mind is wandering again." His attention snapped back onto Gai. The serious eyes had the fierce shine of challenge about them, but it was clear that he wasn't going to let himself be distracted. He wasn't about to get caught off guard again, but he was in Serious mode now. Clearly he thought this was important. He considered fidgeting under the intensity like someone else would have done. But that wasn't what he wanted to say. "How bad exactly is it? If we need to go to the hospital-"

"An unknown shinobi walking into the hospital in the middle of Konoha? I don't have the chakra to hold a henge that long." _At the moment._

Gai stampeded right over his interruption, "- or find a medic-nin we could trust to-"

He made sure his voice was hard and flat, the opposite of both the dry monotone he'd used as a genin and the careless tone he'd adopted later; his own version of Serious. "No. One. Can find out Gai." Still, he was careful to make sure he was only impressing his Serious-ness and not giving commands. Bad tactics that.

Leaning forward, he dropped his voice, "Listen, Gai, there's another-" he paused for a second unsure but plowed on as he saw Gai's brow scrunching up, "there's _most likely_, still a little Hatake running around. If I'm not insane, and this is all real, then I've already lived several years past this one." He paused again, this time to let this sink in. Mini-Gai had copied his secretive movements as he predicted and so the outburst people would have expected was carefully bottled up, only revealed in the wild gleam in his eyes. If Gai had come to the conclusion that he truly _was_ Kakashi, then time-travel probably would have crossed his mind if only briefly, after seeing a clearly _older_ version of his 'rival.' Right along with mutated experiments and long lost relatives. But hearing it presented as fact was something completely different - it was an outrageous claim. He smirked to himself to see the reaction completely stifled. There were few who would believe it possible, the sneaky bastard. But ultimately it didn't matter whether or not Gai believed his claim - he continued on to the part that _did_ after a moment to ensure the impact of his delivery.

"Even if people come to the right conclusion about who I am, instead of killing me the first chance they get, (or trying to anyway,) they will still hunt me down; as a possible liability, hazard, source of information, forbidden jutsu. Even if they don't specifically want to hurt me, they will want the significance of what I represent - and they will tell others. Even if they try to keep it a secret, people will be brought it to help with verification, recording, healing, interrogating, guarding, advising, etc." He broke off suddenly to emphasize his next words.

"They don't know who they can't trust - Gai, this _cannot_ dissolve into politics." His whole body had tensed with the words as they truly sank in for the first time for him as well. It wasn't just a matter of upsetting timelines - there were shadows festering in this Konoha, traitors potential and current. And they were on the verge of war - things that shouldn't have been allowed were being brushed under the carpet of 'the necessity of war.' If people found out - it wouldn't just be the traitors that would complicate things.

A rattle directed his focus back onto Gai, and he ignored the sudden wavering of his vision to watch him pace. He blinked as he realized that the kid had masked his chakra at some point, and tried to not to let the implications of his slipping awareness overshadow the relieved, grateful feeling that Gai had remembered when he had not. It would be silly if all Gai's efforts had been ruined by broadcasting his wildly fluctuating emotions to whoever was paying attention.

Gai made an angry gesture, briefly taking his eyes off him and he quickly took advantage to clear more of his plate. Once again his mask was safely back in place before Gai could turn back toward him. The tension didn't exactly leave the atmosphere, but it was a different type of tension now. One far less sour and bitter. He swayed with the change but retained his focus. Or thought he did. He wasn't sure when Gai had approached him, hand outstretched to steady him. He carefully didn't react and let him do so.

"How bad is it really? I didn't think you had any really bad injuries aside from possible chakra exhaustion." 'Possible' - because he knew Kakashi's default was to suppress his chakra whenever he was 'compromised.'

"Maa, I'm not sure."

"There's a line, my eternal rival, between being hip, and being foolish. Even for you. If you won't see a medic-nin then at least rest."

He nodded without protest as he gave up on his sight once more, but put up a hand to stop Gai before he could 'help him up.' Maybe he could use some assistance, but with Gai, that was a last resort when a few additional injuries wouldn't make much of a difference. He would make it back to bed without his ... _exuberant_ help.

The mattress was like heaven after the battle to cross the room, and he would have passed out right then except for a hand that moved into his space to shake his shoulder. He was briefly considering whether Gai would accept him being too tired to restrain himself as an explanation for stabbing him if he touched him again, when the kid spoke - "I'll have the windows covered before you can blink or I'll do five hundred one armed handstands!" - and he lost any wish to unleash his restraint no matter how much energy it was costing him.

The light was quickly barred from the room and he gathered what energy he could to convey his thanks - and slide his mask down in the cover of darkness. The familiar smells surrounded him and he slipped peacefully into unconsciousness before Gai had even left the room.

* * *

Note: A couple of notes this time. Again, this has not been edited, so let me know if I made any mistakes.

For the scene in the kitchen, if it's not clear, Kakashi is making breakfast _with_ Gai's help. He's not consciously aware of Gai's presence or actions, only of the items that he's interacting with and is doing alot of this on instinct (and the habit of twenty odd years) What's happening is that I can't picture anything these two do as anything less than intense. In other words, they are tossing ingredients, pots, knives, spatulas, etc back and forth. Kakashi is the one at the stove, while Gai is prepping the ingredients or getting what he needs like oil to grease the pan. They're not making anything in particular besides the eggs (the five liquid missiles) and bread (the dough) because Kakashi isn't really paying attention and Gai doesn't really care as long as it's food (and Kakashi cooks it - he's actually a pretty good cook).

And finally, I struggled with this chapter quite a bit. I took out a lot of the content in this chapter and also simply cut it in half because I thought that this would be a good stopping point and most of that cut content is going to end up in the second half and I didn't want to put off posting any longer. Because of this I may have accidentally put some holes in the chapter, so let me know if you have questions.


	4. Trust - Pt 4

Hidden Depths

Trust Arc

Part 4

* * *

His feet were on the floor, his mask in place, the covers flapping around him, the moment he woke. Nonexistent energy burned through him, fueling his sudden action, as he paced with charged strides back into the kitchen.

He took in the light filtering through the lighter curtains of the kitchen and matching it against the time on the wall clock gave him a rough estimate on how long he'd been out as well as the season. _Mid afternoon in Fall. Slept for six hours. When would Gai be getting back?_ Various items, a book, plant, flyer, receipt, a scribbled note, discarded training equipment, all confirmed the year in his head. It coincided with the year that he thought the Gai he'd spoken with that morning belonged to. _So bloody young_.

Opening his senses further he found no one near the house, but allowed himself to pause in his frenetic assessment of his situation and simply bask in what he felt; Konoha hadn't felt so _full_ since before the Kyuubi attack, perhaps not even since before the Third War. Even with the expected baby boom after the end of the war, their numbers continued to be hit one way or another. Shinobi numbers especially had dropped during peace times because of less demand to farm them out of the academy as soon as possible. His very being shook at the overwhelming emotion of feeling of being in a Konoha before the series of tragedies struck, decimating their people.

There was a tension in the air he could remember well; the wary feeling of a peace that would not last must longer, and the strong feelings that would not bow out of the way until peace had long since left. The people of Konoha were always stubborn about conforming to the mindset of war. Oh, they were still wary and alert, ready to make sacrifices that would never be accepted outside of war - but coming into the village itself had always been like stepping into a world apart. The people of Konoha still lived during the war, in a way no other village had been able to emulate. Not even Konoha itself to an extent - not after the Yondaime's death. He'd felt flashes of it after Pein's defeat, like an ember starting to catch fire once more, but this-

He closed his senses back up to their normal standards with a snap. In a village full of shinobi outputting chakra, such a wide range was almost useless; too broad, with chakra's overlapping and merging together. Only _those_ people stood out to his senses at all. Even a large population of civilians, with their extremely low quantities of chakra were enough to distort sensing. It was why it was relatively easy for even a low ranking shinobi to disappear in a population. Even if Gai was in the civilian quarter that he noted was near the house, he wouldn't be able to pick him out at this distance unless he was actively using chakra.

It would have to be enough that he could sense no shinobi nearby. Any that could escape his senses would be as unable to detect him as he was them. That left the normal five senses - despite his abrupt movements when he'd leapt from bed he'd remained silent with no one to be conscientious of. The curtains were all shut to prying eyes. And if they could make use of any of the remaining senses then they were far too close to worry about whether or not they could sense him. He briefly considered someone using vibrations but decided he was being too paranoid. That was a highly specialized skill that was all but unheard of in Konoha. He still lightened his footsteps and resumed his pacing on the rug.

If anything it was doujutsu that he needed to be concerned about. Even though his scan of the village had showed that there were no dojutsu active in the vicinity the Byakugan was not limited to distance in the right hands. He was relatively certain that he was not being watched at the moment but he could not rely on that. A quick check of other known abilities especially in Konoha came up with the same results. Seals were the only thing he would trust fully. But he would need to wait until Gai returned to check his seals. How had he slept like this? Judging by Gai's age his younger self would have already been helping Gai pick out the seals for his wards, but his standards of 'safety' had grown exponentially since then. His knowledge of what needed to be guarded against and what could be guarded against was perhaps the only thing that had grown more quickly than his catalog of jutsus after gaining the Sharingan.

The thought caught in his head. There was really no denying that he was in the past. Even with a clear mind, he dismissed genjutsu within moments. Insanity was simply disregarded as pointless and potentially detrimental to dwell too long on. Instead time travel was an explanation he found he could easily accept. Alternate dimensions and justsu and seals that affected space-time had become almost disturbingly common place during the Fourth War alongside other things that stretched believability. What bore consideration was if he was in the same timeline, or an alternate reality. Paradoxes. The Butterfly effect. He was sure those were supposed to be important or something. Well. He'd deal with it if it came up.

When exactly he found himself was easily determined enough. The layout of the village that he had seen when he first found himself waking in Konoha was untouched by the destruction of the Kyuubi, the gradual changes of time, and the total annihilation Pein had wrought. The atmosphere was unique in his lifespan to the period preceding the Third Shinobi War. He had no doubt that if he were to look the Fourth would not yet be gracing the Hokage Monument. And Gai of course spoke for himself. Even in the state he'd first woken in he'd recognized when he was and came to the conclusion, at least subconsciously, that time-travel was involved.

Anger stirred within him. He could accept that he hadn't truly thought about other options with his mind as it had been, knowing that there would have been an underlying thought process guiding his conclusions. Even half-dead and out of his mind, he was still a competent shinobi. What bothered him was that he had come to those conclusions and yet he hadn't _acted_ upon them! And his guard had been so far down around Gai that it physically hurt him to think about. He asked no questions, assumed that Gai told no one, that he was able to cover his tracks with no one the wiser, that he hadn't given away the fact that there was a second person in his home, that Gai would be able to act normally, that there were no traps in place to keep him incapacitated, that Gai actually believed that he was Kakashi. He didn't ask for the date, the current situation, Gai's schedule, about his seals, if he normally had guests, how his weapon stock was. He had told the kid that he had time-travelled and he hadn't even waited for his reaction. Hell, he hadn't even put too much thought into why Gai had taken in a man fleeing Konoha nin that had a passing resemblance to a certain silver haired chuunin and was rambling like a madman - as if he was said chuunin himself.

He'd done _nothing_ to ascertain the stability of his situation, to find out the information he needed to start taking action. This was a time where many of the dominoes that led to the events in his life were first set up. Some would have already been knocked over by this point but he didn't allow them to be more than a passing thought. Danzou, Orochimaru, Hanzou, the list went on. Madara himself was out there somewhere. And yet he had done nothing. He brushed off the train of thought. There were more important things to think about.

He was more aware than most that the long peace between the Third and Fourth Wars in Konoha was due in large part to Danzou's actions in the shadows. Yet even so, there could be no doubting that he could also be held partially, if not wholly, responsible for some of the village's worst nightmares.

The extent of the man's reach was widely unknown even after his death. Aside from Danzou he was was probably one of the few people that had even an inkling of how widespread Danzou had spread his roots. Pun intended. Even now before the Third War had truly started Root would be active; he had the suspicion that Danzou had laid the foundations for the shadow organization in the Second War even though the Sandaime hadn't caught wind of it until the Third. But just like Hiruzen hadn't shut down the ANBU branch until the end of the Third War, he knew that getting rid of it would only be detrimental to Konoha. While Danzou's methods were detestable, they had played a part in the village's victory in the war. Until he knew exactly how deeply imbedded Root was in the war efforts he was more likely to sabotage the villages survival than make a positive impact.

No, he was already starting to form other plans for Danzou and Root. Plans that would make dealing with everything else much easier as well. And for that he needed information.

His own memories of the past would not be useful here. In retrospect he had long since realized that he'd had several encounters with Danzou and even Root that never made it on the official record during that time. Danzou had thought him easily manipulatable but extremely useful especially when he didn't have a team or sensei. Despite being well-known because of the scandal with his father, he had still managed to somewhat drop off the map after graduating from the academy. A few weeks here and there when he disappeared went by unnoticed. Kakashi had known that Danzou was behind the dangerous missions assignments that the missions office would never have approved, that his actions were strange, but had been unaware that the man was going behind the Hokage's back with his actions. He hadn't understood until later that many of the missions he undertook would not even be given to hardened jonin, or sometimes even to Konoha nin in general.

Despite all this, his memory of those years were sketchy at best for the sake of his own sanity. After a brief consideration he decided the risk outweighed the potential knowledge digging the memories up might reveal at least for the moment. Going directly to the source was still an option at the moment and would bestow more accurate intel in much larger quantities than the narrow scope his interactions with Danzou would supply.

He stopped his pacing and sat down in a deliberate motion; he couldn't afford to waste any more energy he didn't have. Without the pacing to expel his tension his body automatically fell into his neutral state, slouched and apathetic. To look at him, one would never suspect the storm of thought raging in his head.

The opportunities before him were daunting, overwhelming in their scope, but he could not let them slip past because his body was not up to it. He needed a way around his current state - despite his quick mental recovery he had the suspicion that he would not be in top form for quite some time.

He didn't have the chakra for a long term genjutsu or henge so he would need someone that would accept not only who he was but also that he was not the same Kakashi that they knew. Some things he could perhaps do through long distance, and thus anonymously or as someone else, but frankly what he needed at the moment was someone to physically back him up. And at this point in time there weren't that many options. Most of the influence, respect, and trust that he had grown used to had been earned every step out from under the shadow of his father. Now he would be the son of the traitor, a genius prodigy that made people nervous.

The rare few that didn't see him like that presented their own risks. People like the Sandaime, Jiraiya, Minato, Kushina, would want to involve other people, they'd want to know all the details. If they saw even a hint of his weakness they would try to completely take over his mission. All they knew was the child, obsessed with the rules, emotionless, broken. They would need proof that he had grown into a competent shinobi. Hell, they would want proof - Yamanaka style proof more than likely - that he had traveled to the past. Would they understand when he was not willing to give them information about the last twenty yeas of his life?

Combined with the trouble of meeting them, without being killed or captured on sight, they simply weren't worth the effort for backup. He idly noted that despite all the losses he'd suffered in his life, in comparison to this short list of people he could turn to in this time, his life truly had improved as he'd gotten older.

A particular chakra entered the range of his senses. There was one other important person during this time; one that was already aware of his presence. Someone who already recognized his strength, no matter what year it was. He allowed his previous frustration at his actions around Gai to resurface. With brutal efficiency he stripped the emotion down to it's source, though somewhere he already knew what he would find. Hidden underneath all the other emotions was something simple, but he wouldn't have been able to guess at it and the realization shook him.

Trust.

It was one thing, he thought, to know that you would die for someone, that they had your back in a fight, that they would also die for you, it was something completely different to truly _trust_ them. He had thought leaving your back to someone in a fight was trusting someone. And maybe that was one aspect of it. But it truly hit him hard that he didn't just trust in Gai's skills in battle; he trusted Gai to _understand_ him, to trust him in turn. He trusted Gai to respect his paranoia, to respect his need to disappear from the world sometimes. And it wasn't just trust that was built up over time as they fought and grew up together. The mini-Gai walking into the building right then had all of that trust too.

A wry, melancholy, humor filled him. Any questions about the kid telling, letting his presence slip, not being able to cover his tracks, or his reaction to his presence, disappeared. And when he turned to face Gai as he walked into the room it was with a wicked and vindictive smirk that made the kid pause.

"Ne, Gai. How do you feel about joining me for a mission?"

He had a plan to set in motion. Any doubts mini-Gai had would be cleared up along the way.

-

They ducked into a side passage as Kakashi sensed their first signs of occupants in the warren of tunnels. There were two of them, neither speaking. As they came nearer he stopped breathing, noting that Gai mimicked his actions as he'd expected. Though they both breathed near silently, there was no point in taking chances - not while infiltrating an organization that thrived on stealth and paranoia. Even when the two operatives left the range of his senses he was careful not to sigh or inhale dramatically and his shadow followed his example.

He moved on with confidence, impishly anticipating Gai's explosion of question on his actions once their 'mission' was over. For all that Gai was a natural at stealth, he still had yet to gather true experience in the skill. It was something he always took great pleasure in, defying a green nin's expectations of what 'stealth' meant. Most others would have darted from place to place, stopping and straining frequently to check for discovery. But he moved as if he belonged there, confident, unflinching. If someone did sense them they didn't need to give them any reason to think that they were infiltrators. And besides that, it was bloody faster.

Several more times they were forced to divert to side passages. Occasionally they waited until operatives passed and continued on, but more often they simply continued in a different direction. With no particular destination, though he hadn't mentioned _that_ to Gai, the trip was more about covering as much ground as possible to hopefully come across the information they'd set out to find. Not that he wasn't being methodical in his search; they were steadily coming across more and more operatives as they worked further into the labyrinth. Already they had passed several rooms that appeared to be living quarters, and a vague uneasiness about their numbers was beginning to grow in the back of his mind.

They came across another passageway with the faint chakra of a seal tickling his senses, but unlike the others that he had passed over with only a note of their locations, he paused at this one. The muffling seal was preventing him from extending his senses as far as he was normally able to but it wasn't designed to combat a sensor of his level from the inside. A chakra source going out abruptly not far beyond the sealed door was what had caught his attention, but there were several _active_ chakras hovering on the edges of his senses as well. There was a certain dreadful surety dulling his thoughts, and he made his way down the passage almost on autopilot. The seal wasn't trapped this time but he was still careful not to touch as he traced its pattern, confirming that it was another variation of the entrance seal; most likely only people above a certain rank could open the door it was warding. His previous satisfaction at finding the low level sealing, low level enough that he could easily scratch out the necessary modifications, was greatly diminished as he made up two quick counter seals. He was through the door as soon as there was a crack wide enough for him.

Faint, flickering light turned the black world they'd been into dark grey and they carefully shut the door behind them. The chakra's were around the corner of the tunnel they'd entered, and he backed up against it, before sneaking a glance. He withdrew rapidly, processing the layout of the small cavern more than the scene he'd been presented with. A few torches barely lit the space and threw dancing shadows every which way. There were several natural tiers higher up on the walls, and scattered debris piles he guessed were from previous spars surrounded a flat clearing. As he'd known the cavern's occupants were focused elsewhere, and he already had a path up to the closest tier laid out. Normally there wouldn't have been enough cover to hide from Root's nin but he wasn't worried. Squeezing Gai's shoulder once to warn him of the impending action, he swiftly moved out and let himself be absorbed into the shadows, darting behind and on top of the debris. He didn't stop moving until he reached the back edge of the target tier and wasn't surprised to find Gai right behind him.

Carefully, he made several signs against Gai's arm, ordering him to stay back from the edge. Fortunately the crash course on distinguishing signals by touch seemed to have stuck and he moved to the edge alone. That dread certainty was telling him that this wasn't something the kid needed to see.

Another chakra had been petering out as they entered and had now gone out completely. Several bodies littered the ground evidence of the recent violence. A few still figure stood over some of them, blood dripping from their weapons. Even as he watched they were led out the same way that he and Gai had entered. Two masked nin remained having a brief sign exchange about the bodies. Apparently they had interfered in one of the kills when it looked like the body would be damaged to badly, leaving the victim badly injured but alive. One was saying that he should be neutralized, being useless, while the other rebuffed him saying it was not their decision. Conflict resolved they grabbed the bodies and left. Idly, he wondered if they would come back to clean up the bloodstains or if they didn't see them as reminders of the horrors they were committing.

There was a light touch on his leg and he sprung into motion after allowing it to rest there for several seconds as confirmation for Gai to resume following him. They landed within the circle of light avoiding the sand, blood, dirt, and loose stones that would leave evidence of their presence. He wasn't sure how much of that Gai had sensed, and he knew that he couldn't know what had just transpired, but this was something that they needed to be able to see each other for. Well, as much as they could with the hooded cloaks they both wore in imitation of Root operatives anyway. The porcelain masks couldn't be faked or stolen on such short notice so they both wore scarves to cover the bottom hall of their faces, letting the shadow of the deep hoods do the rest - it would have been more suspicious to have a fake mask than to not have one in the heart of their base. The gesture would have to do.

Gai looked around, glancing at him once, and then stilled in thought. It was doubtful that he would come to the conclusion that children that had been raised as siblings had not long ago been killing each other in this cavern, their 'guardians' watching over them, enforcing the violence rather than halting it. But his conclusion wouldn't be positive either. Despite being shinobi village, people were almost never killed within Konoha unless they were enemies or traitors. Gai's hood turned towards him, waiting, and just to be sure it was clear, without going into the details, he signed, _not enemies._

Maybe later he would explain, but for now it was enough that Gai understood the significance. The Hokage wouldn't approve of summary executions, much less what had really happened, and thus, for this to be going on, the Hokage couldn't _know_. And it was large-scale as well. Not a couple of shinobi resentful for a demotion that had been overlooked, but a large group of uniformed nin, with their own seal hidden base.

If Gai had doubts about there being duplicitous characters in the village, this would have erased them. As if in confirmation of this, Gai gave a resolute nod. He returned it and then lead them out of the room. Resolved renewed, they slipped back into the dark, moving deeper and deeper into the shadowy roots of Konoha.

* * *

Notes: As usual this hasn't been edited. Please let me know if you find any mistakes.

There are a few things that I have written out or have ideas on that I can't seem to find a place for in the story at the moment. Things like what Kakashi and Gai are wearing on their little outing. Or Gai's perspective on everything. I've seen other authors like Tsu Doh Nimh (The Havoc Side of the Force, Harry Potter/Star Wars crossover, is one of my favourites) post companion fics to their main stories that complement the main story without interrupting it's flow. I'm considering this so let me know what you think. Everything would be written as cut scenes so no dry explanation or anything like that.


	5. Revelations

Hidden Depths

Revelations

* * *

They were encountering operatives with more and more frequency as they made their way deeper into the underground base. Quite often they were no longer given the option of side passages to avoid them either. But resourcefulness in the face of the unexpected was a half a shinobi's job.

Not that his solution was unheard of before. It was just... difficult without the use of chakra. While injured. In the dark. With no idea of where exactly the ceiling was, or what it was made of. Well. Perhaps taking risks was the other half of a shinobi's job - at least his. Not that he would ever admit it.

The first time he'd sensed shinobi coming their way from opposite directions with no way to turn off into a side passage, there were only a few options to consider. Truthfully there'd been more than a few, but he didn't count the ones that would _definitely_ blow their cover. Like taking out one of the approaching groups and assassinating anyone they encountered afterward. Alright, he'd definitely considered it - but not _seriously_. And he hadn't seriously considered using the trick he had up his sleeve either. That was more of a one time deal, and he hadn't wanted to destroy his plans for later by wasting it there. The other option had been fairly risky. He still hadn't seen what the limits of his injured body were. Oh, who was he kidding, he'd thought - the state of his body had never stopped him from doing anything. Gai had probably never done it without chakra but it relied on stamina and strength - it was practically made for Gai. There were of course the other factors to consider but... Within seconds of feeling the trap he came to a stop and reached out to Gai to convey both the presence of the trap and his intentions._ Up_, he signed, then pulled out two kunai to explain the how of what he had in mind. Sticking to the ceiling with chakra was only a matter of chakra control. Doing it without chakra was a bit more complicated. Kunai, fortunately, were more than just aerodynamic throwing knives with convenient finger rings. They were their portable handholds and anchors for spontaneous climbing and crouching in strange places without chakra. Gai tapped his hand to show he understood, which was good since there was no way for him to demonstrate without chakra or light, and he signaled that he would go first to see if the plan was feasible.

Quickly he checked the wall with the back of his hand to make sure it wouldn't crumble or compress under his weight. Satisfied, he ran up the wall a couple of steps before kicking the wall to vault to the other side of the tunnel. The nine feet that gave him was enough to get him to the ceiling and he thrust one of his kunai into the ceiling. He didn't even pause in his actions to see if the kunai would slide into the material of the ceiling or if it would obediently stay sheathed there. Swinging his weight on it he twisted to implant the other kunai in the ceiling and planted his feet against the wall, so that he faced the ground hanging on the kunai from outstretched arms. He idly mused as he felt Gai follow him up that crouching on ceilings was easier in corners. And with chakra. Gai no doubt, was reevaluating his life in view of things that could be done despite the lack of chakra. He resigned himself to the questions he would be battered with once this was over; few things would deter Gai from possible training opportunities.

Silencing his body's protests through experienced force of will, he focused on the operatives and was pleased to find that they'd taken to the ceiling just in time. Two of them passed underneath them within a few moments. He pondered how easily they would have been discovered if they had been using lights as he waited for the next group to pass. The tunnel wasn't high enough to get away with that 'people rarely look up' crap even if it wasn't unrealistic. But without light... He supposed that with the way Root operatives were so attuned to the dark, probably more so than most shinobi, they had the advantage here. No doubt they were all competent at fighting relying on mostly chakra sensing and their other senses.

It was just too bad for them, that it happened that the two people that decided to infiltrate Root were the two things that they hadn't anticipated. He and Gai were as comfortable in the dark as they were - well, he was, but Gai had a natural talent for stealth, made a habit of training in the dead of night, and was following his lead, so it was pretty much the same thing. And most of all, they were suppressing their chakra instead of masking it.

The simple fact of the matter was that no one suppressed their chakra. Stealth was typically about hiding from the other senses and applying the various ingenious ways of masking chakra from sensors. An alert, high level sensor and a few specializations could see through these but those were extremely rare. Chakra was never given up because it limited the abilities too much; it was taken for granted. Gai was one of the few shinobi that focused on increasing his physical strength, stamina, and speed outside of chakra; thus, he wasn't nearly as reliant on chakra. By default he'd been dragged along as Gai's 'rival.' Not that he'd protested when it helped to compensate for his lower chakra reserves and suppression let him, for all purposes, be completely invisible. Exactly the way they were now to Root. The bucketload of inside information probably didn't hurt anything either.

A single operative passed under them from the opposite direction of the other two and his gut clenched. On many of the teams he'd been on this was the part where his teammate would spring back into action thinking the danger past, without waiting for his confirmation, and instead found themselves dropping in front of their target. It took several moments for him to acknowledge that Gai wouldn't do the same, and he found himself more relieved than he should have been; Gai had always been better on the respecting other teammates roles front despite having as much trouble on his genin team as he had. He dismissed it as the oddness of _leading_ Gai rather than acting as equals when the last two operatives in the area passed under them.

They had barely passed out of range, when he dropped to the floor and immediately dashed off. Despite knowing that only a few moments had passed, the lack of action was letting his mind wander more than it usually would. There was another presence approaching but the gap was just large enough that he would rather risk it than stay still any longer. Gai was at his side in a moment and he berated himself. This wasn't a solo mission and Gai was... mini at the moment; he wasn't the only one that he was endangering with his risks. Being irritated that mini-Gai could easily catch up to him at his current speed was a sign that he needed to consider the other more when he acted, not a reminder that he was currently injured and weak. He forced himself to focus on the mission and the team; his brain could have it's meltdown later. Which included not pushing himself to go any faster despite the unreasonable feeling of being challenged.

Internally, he sighed. The night was far from over.

* * *

The ceiling became a frequent recourse for them over the next while as more people started to head further into the base. The increase in traffic was irritating him, but he deliberately drowned that with curiosity. They slipped into a gap in the procession to find out where everyone was headed. But only a few moments later they broke off into the first side passage he came across. Apparently they weren't too far from the stream of people's destination. He had felt the edge of a gathering crowd and that was not someplace he wanted to get corralled into. Even the small part of the gathering he'd felt had many more shinobi than the couple dozen or so they'd come across so far.

The unease he'd felt at the amount of living quarters they'd passed intensified. How many shinobi did Danzou have? After Root was shut down, he was killing off half his numbers as part of the brainwashing. Clearly from the scene they'd come across he had already begun to practice that method. But surely when Root was still official and he could freely recruit he wouldn't have used that method so often? How many kids had already died? And if there were this many operatives where had they all gone by the time Root was disbanded? Was the Sandaime aware of how many operatives Root had right now?

Whatever they were gathering for was now only a convenience for them to take advantage of. While not all of the operatives had joined, it seemed as if the majority of them had; despite being in the heart of the base the tunnels were relatively empty. Moving now with additional purpose he stopped to check every seal he sensed, looking for ones that would denote storage or weapons rooms. It was more of a guessing game than anything. The seal he had opened earlier had been meant for higher level operatives, but a storage room would be open to more ranks than that. Not all ranks, but there was no way of knowing exactly how many.

He found a seal that fit somewhere in that range fairly quickly and made quick work of the counter seal - it was even less difficult than the last one. The other side of the door was dark but he was fairly sure that it wasn't a storage room. Not willing to waste time investigating, he was about to pull out, when a sound stopped him short. It was just outside his hearing range, but his instincts told him it had been the sound of fighting. Wary of finding another scene he still couldn't help but head toward the sound. Soon he could clearly hear metal clinking off metal, slightly distorted as it carried down the hallway they were in. A few bends later revealed two chakras and a faint light. He relaxed slightly as he realized that the two were training, their chakra's steady and nonviolent. The clashing stopped and he stole a glance around the last corner before ducking back. The hall lead out onto a sort of underground training ground. It was similar to the other room except that it had less of the feeling of a stage. One of the shinobi had headed into another room where he had caught a glimpse of a weapons rack - a storage room. Bingo. The other shinobi was sitting down on the edge of the dim light apparently settling into meditation.

He restrained his wicked mischievous impulse to pass right under their noses to get to the storage room. That would be extremely risky even for him, but two people would be pushing it. On the other hand, leaving Gai out of range of any sort of contact with hostile nin between them was not at all appealing. Undecided he turned to Gai for his opinion. He waited long enough after he signed the situation that he wasn't sure if Gai had understood him. It was actually lucky Gai had caught any of the signs so far at all - but Gai tapped back in confirmation then signed _Up_; he would wait here. He allowed himself a grin.

He breezed past the meditating shinobi with a malicious glee; supposedly he was at his most aware right now. Of course, he didn't _literally_ breeze past him, but he slipped by close enough that the man should be ashamed of himself. Ducking into the storage was risky with light illuminating the doorway, but the meditating shinobi had his eyes closed, and the one in the storeroom was far from the door. He ducked in, then quickly took to the shadows on the top shelves, careful not to dislodge anything. He could hear the other one now, rummaging in what sounded like a box of blades. Occupied. He turned his attention to the contents of the storeroom, thanking the shinobi for so thoughtfully providing light - he had not been looking forward to doing inventory in the dark.

Not that he was particularly interested in their actual inventory so much as the quantity of their stock. Despite most shinobi buying and maintaing their own equipment, the divisions always kept a stock prepared to equip at least three quarters of their forces. If not twice that. Shinobi tended to go through equipment like ... well, not like water, but they went through it fairly regularly. Kunai especially tended to vanish. He always thought that making kunai would keep him well off if he ever retired from the shinobi life. But what he was really counting were the things that didn't get replaced often: the metal arm guards, tantou, and the like. More durable and less likely to become unretrievable during a mission. He got rough estimates on the items in each aisle before moving on the next, only forgoing the last where the shinobi was apparently still trying to find the right blade.

He did the numbers as he checked to see that the other shinobi was still meditating. There would be a few other rooms like this one distributed across the base, at least two. He slipped back out the doorway. On the low end they could have just restocked and had more than normal and was necessary, on the other end they could be waiting for a replacement shipment and were running low. Either way, their numbers were far higher than he'd expected - even Anbu didn't have those numbers, at least not while he was a member.

The rattling turned to light swishes just as he moved out of hearing range and he couldn't help sneaking up behind the meditating shinobi. He needed to focus on something else. And it was the perfect opportunity to start setting things up for the future. The nin froze as the tip of the needle he'd picked up brushed against the back of his neck. Very carefully modulating his voice, to something deeper, that barely left his lips before dying, he whispered into his ear. He was gone as soon as the last syllable had left his lips but his victim remained still for several moments. He cackled gleefully, wondering if the nin would be able to figure out his trick. He'd left the needle balanced on the back of the man's shirt just resting on his skin. As soon as he moved the needle would be unbalanced and would most likely be lost. But until then it would seem as if he was still there. Perhaps giving him time to react to his words.

He slipped back around the corner into the tunnel and kept moving when Gai joined him. He had set it up so that his actions would be mistaken for another Root operative - specifically the other one in the room that had fallen silent just as he made his move - but it was best if they got as far away as possible. Just in case.

Finally in the true depths of the base it didn't take much longer to locate his ultimate goal; the door was marked by the highest level version of the entrance seal they'd encountered so far. No doubt while it was occupied the seal wasn't active, but it didn't matter either way; he scrawled out a counter seal after tracing the lines of the seal. He was getting faster at this. Stepping into the room turned out to be rather tricky. He cursed as he realized that Danzou probably had another component linked to the seal that canceled all the traps in the room when he entered. But he shrugged it off - traps were easy enough to avoid. They found all of them on their way around the room, along with a desk and a few shelves. But none of it was protected so he didn't bother with it. He paused in the center of the room for a few moments before he felt the static chakra of another seal. It was incredibly faint - it most likely would need to be replaced soon. The sign of frequent use only confirmed that it was hiding what he was actually looking for though.

The seal was behind what was most likely a map, and he carefully checked to make sure there were no markers in place that would reveal if it was moved by anyone other than Danzou. Childish, but Danzou was paranoid and the simplest things could often be the most effective. Finding nothing he moved it aside before tracing the new seal. It wasn't like the others but it was incredibly basic - it's strength was clearly in secrecy - no one would find it if they didn't already know it was there. Or if someone could sense static chakra. The door revealed and open, Gai slid in behind the map and they scrupulously made sure it fell still before they closed the door behind them. A few paces revealed that they were in hallway of some sort, but it wasn't long or twisty, and had a single corner on the end that would block the other door from view of the entrance if there was light. The urge to cackle filled him, but it was driven more by the urge to fight the tension, than how close he was to Danzou's most prized records room.

He passed his hand over the door and found the seal soon enough - it was large and centered in the middle of the door as was predictable for a large seal. As far as he knew Root only had four master level seals - all of which he had the counter seals for. If this wasn't one of them he would be in trouble. In the case that Danzou had taken advantage of being an official subdivision of Anbu and had seals commissioned from within Konoha then his counter seals would be useless - Danzou would have changed any seals that the Sandaime would have been aware of as soon as he figuratively moved Root underground. He had only traced part way through it before he recognized the familiar pattern. There were variations like all the others had had, but the counter-seal would work. He should've figured that Danzou would never use any seals under Sarutobi's eyes, even with the extra cost of dealing with a seal maker outside of the village.

He took his time tracing the seal and building a good visualization of it before he set about brushing out the counter seal, making sure the modifications he needed to make were clear. A seal of this level had multiple layers that needed to be taken into account. And if he made a mistake he had a very clear idea of his fate - Danzou hadn't been stingy with the traps on this one, nor merciful.

The seal needed his full attention, so he had Gai sitting next to entrance, keeping alert for any nearby chakras in his place. It wasn't ideal because Root's dampening seal restricted Gai's range to only a handful of meters, but he had worked with less.

He finished and carefully applied the counter over the seal. Unlike on the other, lower grade, seals, this counter seal needed to remain continuously active for proper nullification. So he left Gai where he was and the door open as he slipped inside. He turned his mind fully on his task, Gai's heart rate the only other thing he was aware of. Unable to make noise, visible signals over distance, or alert each other through chakra it was their only way to communicate. A steady heartbeat was something that could only be picked up on if it was already being focused on - a minute increase would likewise be undetectable unless someone was listening for it. That would be the only warning that Gai would be able to give him if he sensed something. He made a note to make sure and teach Gai another method of communication if they ever did something like this again.

As expected the room was full of scrolls. He didn't even need light at this point, the static chakra of their individual seals clearly identifying their presence. He didn't let himself be relieved that they were really there. There had been no reason to believe that Danzou had access to the Sharingan's eidetic memory at this point. He was almost positive that it wasn't until the successful transplant of Obito's eye into a non-Uchiha that Danzou had recruited Orochimaru's assistance. Nor was there any reason to think that the file room wouldn't contain the really important information. Even after he obtained the Sharingan Danozu had still maintained records or he wouldn't have kept the sealed vault.

Ignoring his worries he performed a preliminary check to confirm that there were several different seals. He didn't have the time to check each individually but he randomly checked enough until he was satisfied that he had found each distinct seal. There were two of higher grade, but one of them had five variations - most likely the operative seals for mission reports. He traced out each one and was pleased to find them all familiar enough that he would be able to modify their counter seals. It wouldn't be easy but it was possible. That meant there were six counter seals that would take as long as the one for the door. He spared a thought to be thankful he'd memorized the counter seals, made by far more skilled individuals than he, with the Sharingan - his skills wouldn't have been up to this without that base to work off.

He pulled out the storage scroll he'd prepared for this. It contained as many scrolls and as much ink as he could get his hands on, on such short notice; hopefully it would be enough. There were two seals that he needed to finish to call this mission a success. Both were high level, but the first would be a matter of time and patience and higher lever modifications while the second... The second was built on theories and hopes and his own admittedly amateur skills. He started to work on the first one, working from the base outward. It would copy all the scrolls currently inside the vault without even opening them or triggering their seals.

Incorporating the counter-seals was the most time consuming part, but he was careful to make sure they interacted properly with the chakra dampening component. Even if the seal didn't collapse, the dampening component could still fail and alert Danzou. He had strong suspicions that the dampening seal on Root's base had been connected to something that worked very similar to a sensory barrier. No doubt Danzou was the only with access to it, but he couldn't rely on Danzou not being near it to notice that initial chakra burst in his records room.

Finishing the last line he sensed the flare of chakra as it activated. He waited but Gai's heart rate didn't change as it would have if he had sensed anything. Satisfied that if Gai couldn't sense it well within his range then the dampening component had worked, he poured the first pot of ink over the scrolls. He watched in fascination for a moment as the ink seemed to gain a life of it's own and began to slither across the scrolls leaving words in its wake. He noted that the information wasn't his just yet; many of the scrolls would be written in code, including Iruka's most hated enemies: chicken scratch and illegible handwriting. One would think Shinobi that could easily forge signature would be able to extend their abilities to making their reports legible - but as he was one of those lazy bastards it would be hypocritical of him to complain. He moved on to the next task with a sigh.

With another scroll spread out before him, he didn't let his uncertainty slow his movements. Even trying this was going to be extremely risky - but this was the seal that truly made this mission worthwhile. This would give him constant updates on Danzou's actions. Every scroll that was added to the room would be copied and sent to him. At least, that was the plan. Connecting a pair of scrolls to allow instant communication, would allow it to work - if he could modify the seal to allow the scrolls to work on either side of the seal barrier in the room. Just a bit of manipulation of space-time - no big deal. It wasn't like there were any dangerous repercussions that even seal-masters were wary of. He tried not to think about it. A few more entirely experimental modifications, to prevent silly things like the seal activating while Danzou was still holding a scroll, and allowing him to feed chakra to it from the paired scroll, and theoretically, the seal itself was complete.

Physically leaving the scroll was perhaps the easiest problem and he was relieved to finally turn to it. Danzou, paranoid bastard that he was, would notice if a single thing was out of place. He was just glad he didn't leave dust everywhere to catch people that way. Probably thought anybody with chakra would be able to avoid that with ease. Hah. So mixing his scroll in with the others was out; as was attempting to stuff it in a corner and hoping it didn't get seen. Fortunately, he'd come prepared for this and had a trick up his sleeve. He'd made a nice, pre-drawn earth-style seal-jutsu with a dampening component just for this eventuality. Unfortunately, since Gai did not have an earth affinity he could only use Gai's blood as ink for part of it. In order to finish and activate it he had to use some of his own chakra infused blood to finish and activate the seal - chakra he really didn't have to spare.

With the seal system and the paired scroll finished he found a nice corner that was out of direct sight of the main path, no harm in being overcautious after all, and, after a pause to brace himself, bit his thumb to swipe the last lines into the seal and activate it. The scroll disappeared into the wall with a flare of chakra leaving the seal dead. For several seconds he simply stayed there, making sure he hadn't passed his limits, only moving to slip the paired scroll into a pocket. When he turned away to check on the progress of his first copying seal he was able to disregard the dizziness and the heavier feel of his body. But his uneasiness grew as he watched the last words appear.

He had taken too long. Danzou had no doubt been the one to call the meeting. It was a given that he would stop by his office afterwards. How long had it been since they had left the gathering? As if summoned by his thoughts Gai's heart rate changed and he jolted into action. He had the scroll tucked away and was out the door lifting the counter seal off in a blink. Gai arrived at his elbow at the same time and he signaled him up with his unoccupied hand, before following himself. The action was trying but he ignored that and focused on his senses. There were three people in Danzou's office - standing around the desk if he remembered the layout right.

The dampener stripped away most of the detail but he was fairly positive the one closest to the hidden door - to them - was Danzou. He cursed their low voices - what reason did uber paranoid shinobi have to mutter in the heart of their top secret base?There was no way of knowing whether they were talking about new recruits or if he was receiving a mission report that would need to be filed. The latter was not preferable.

The two others left and he steeled himself for possible action. He hadn't decided yet whether he would try to take Danzou down or just make a break for it. Maybe they were close enough to the door that even with light he wouldn't notice them? He couldn't count-

The man that had to be Danzou left a moment later. He felt him pass out of his range and he dropped to the floor less than gracefully. He couldn't quite believe he'd left - or that he'd been there at all. Gai's hand was on his shoulder before he'd realized that he'd almost blanked out. Straightening from his crouch, he refused to feel embarrassed, and signaled Gai that he was nearing his limit. He'd anticipated this and warned his accomplice accordingly. He had hopes that this wouldn't end in Gai giving him a piggyback ride. But if they needed to take to the ceiling again, he was resigned to it.

* * *

The path back took only a little less time than it had to reach Danzou's office and it was fortunately fairly clear. They were able to head directly back instead of meandering between the tunnels but lost time by the need to go slower. By the time they encountered other shinobi they were able to simply duck into another side passage as they had at first.

Lack of people had him worrying that they'd stayed past dawn, but when they were finally back under the sky, it was only just beginning to lighten. They hadn't even taken a few steps outside the barrier before Gai was insisting that he carry him the rest of the way. It probably said something that he couldn't gather the energy to protest; he drifted off before they'd left the area, only coming back to awareness to place a seal on the scrolls and pull off his mask under the covers.

Anymore of Danzou's revelations could wait 'til he woke.

* * *

Note: As usual this has not been edited; please let me know of any mistakes.

_Unexpected Companions_, where I'm putting Gai's POV (finally!) is now up as well. Only one chapter so far (2.6k words) but I have more material that hasn't been covered in _Hidden Depths_ waiting to be typed. **(Update 3/2/2014: **Chapter two is also up now.**)**

If you're having a difficult time picturing them crouching on the ceiling let me know and I will attempt to draw what I have in mind.

I included a lot of information about sealing in this because I couldn't help myself, let me know if you have any questions, because I tried not to dump all of it into the story.

**(Update 3/2/2014:** I received a wonderful review from Magnusrae that pointed out some problems in this chapter. I have made some changes accordingly, especially in the scene in Danzou's records room with all the sealing. Hopefully I have done their advice justice and the story has improved. Thank you very much!

Another thing that was brought to my attention was that it seems strange that Danzou wouldn't notice that his seal of his traps hadn't been deactivated/disarmed. So some changes have been made clarifying that as well that I will summarize here.

Kakashi didn't disarm the traps, merely avoided them. Like thieves in the movies dodging the lasers.

The seals weren't deactivated. The counter-seals temporarily nullify their effects. Most of the seals were simple barrier types so he simply had to use them once to bypass the barrier - it would be sealed to the next person to pass by. The high level seal is more complicated and would react even after he had passed the boundary. So he leaves the counter seal on top of the seal to continuously nullify it. He rips it off when Gai warns him they have company.**)**

Also, I had some goals I was trying to accomplish relating to Kakashi so please tell me what you thought of him this chapter! (or any chapter)


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